As the title says, I was thinking about upgrading a 5750 thats in a secondary system. The Bioshock Infinite game would be interesting with the 7790 looks to be something I'd like to go with. The system is rarely used atm , however that could change in the future. It's uses would be a secondary gaming rig. It has an I3 Ivy in it now.I have a couple of questions. 1. Which 7790 would people recommend? I've been using Nvidia for awhile so I'm a bit out of touch on the Radeon's. 2. Would it be worth the extra $50 to move up to a 7850? and again which one would people recommend?I think a $200 cap is good, since I'm basically upgrading for the games and not for a need to replace the 5750.

Last edited by rogue426 on Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

XFX doesn't have a base lifetime warranty anymore. That "Core Edition" HD7850 for instance only has a 2 year warranty. In a related anecdote my experience with XFX support was less than satisfying. Communication was only through a web based system and responses were very slow, upwards of a day between a reply back from support. Took a week to get an RMA# supplied for a DoA card. I don't blame them for the DoA, can't possibly eliminate all of those, but the slow response time was a big bummer when XFX's warranty was the reason I went with them in the first place.

If this is a secondary gaming rig, I see no reason to avoid the 7790 just because it only has 1GB VRAM, especially if you're gaming at 1080p or lower. After all, this MSI model only costs $125 after MIR. The 7850 would give you an average of 8-10 more fps though. While the 7790 delivers playable framerates in that article with those settings (you can always lower settings to boost framerates) the 7850 would be considered silky smooth.

2GB memory may offer a bit more longevity. Especially considering the PS4 and Xbox720/Next (launching this winter) will have 8GB shared memory. We might see future games asking for more VRAM....hard to predict the future.

If you're not ultra-sensitive to noise, and money is still a concern, go with this Powercolor 7850 for $170 after MIR. Newegg reviews seem largely positive. Powercolor isn't typically known for quietness IMO, but the reviews seem to suggest this card is pretty good. Maybe they've made some improvements since the 6850 that I own. (I dont consider my 6850 "loud" but it probably could be quieter) It's hard to argue with the value Powercolor offers.

Otherwise I would second the notion for the Sapphire 7850 for $185. I've owned a couple Sapphire cards and have been very satisfied with their quality.

Keep in mind that with Catalyst Control Center (AMD driver software) you will be able to overclock a "factory clocked" card to the same frequency as any of the OC cards.